Of the one billion people around the world who smoke, four million die prematurely and in terms of rate, one person dies every minute due to smoking. “Our guesstimate (the way by which doctors estimate number of those effected by a certain disease or problem) says 20-30 lakh Delhiites consume tobacco in one form or other,” points out the executive vice-chairman of Heart Care Foundation of India, Dr. K. K. Aggarwal, whose NGO has been creating awareness against use of tobacco.

According to a study, in India, 15 crore male and 4 crore females above the age of 15 years are habitual users of tobacco while other 40-50 children below 15 years are also under its grip, says Monika Arora, a research scientist with “HRIDAY - SHAN” an NGO in Delhi which has been creating health awareness and promoting anti-tobacco and other health issues among children.

In India, cigarette forms 20 per cent of total tobacco produce while “bidi” had a share of 40 per cent. The remaining 40 per cent was the market of “pan masala” and chewing tobacco, informs Mr. Pawan Tiwari, Editor of “Tobacco Today” a monthly magazine specifically meant for the tobacco industry.

Besides smoking, another way to consume tobacco is snuff dippers where a person consumes more than 10 times the amount of cancer-causing substances (nitrosamines) than cigarette smokers. In fact , some brands of smokeless tobacco contained as much as 20,000 times the legal limit of nitrosamines permitted in certain foods and consumer products, reveals Dr. Aggarwal. “The juice from the smokeless tobacco is absorbed directly through the lining if the mouth. Smokeless tobacco users greatly increase their risk of other cancers including gum, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus.” He adds.

The situation is alarming as a person using tobacco cannot escape from getting affected from one or more of the following diseases- common cold, Crohn’s disease (chronic inflamed bowel”), influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, impotence, loss of vision, depression, asthma, rhinitis, et al.

Though several laws had been framed to ban smoking in public places and promotion of its use, it’s still a major cause of concern among medical fraternity and law makers, says Ms. Arora, adding awareness had been gradually increasing by the efforts of both the Government and NGOs, but still cases of deaths related to use tobacco were on the rise.

NGOs and medical experts working in this direction feel in order to quit smoking and use of tobacco, a smoker could derive wonderful benefits from a good support system that comes from spouse, relative, friend or co-worker. Besides, alternative approaches like acupuncture, use of herbs, hypnosis and nutritional supplements could be helpful.

Experts feel the “right time” to quit smoking can be a special day or a special feeling-- it could be your wedding anniversary. Besides, inner strength and determination plays a crucial role to change tobacco habit.

“Maintaining a good sense of humour, developing creative outlets through hobbies or crafts, gaining insight about yourself, building a positive support group for encouragement, initiating a new project to occupy your thoughts, or just discovering how to live independently from tobacco” are some of the tested strategies that had worked. Says Dr. Aggarwal, whose organisation organised a “successful” “No Tobacco Week” guiding smokers to quit their habit.

Other ways to end this habit are chewing sugarless gum, eating carrot sticks, herbal smoking, hiding ashtrays, taking long walks, asking others not to smoke around you, and spending time in places where smoking is prohibited, he adds.

School children to clean the air....

The Times of India, New Delhi, Friday, May 25, 2001

School students started a campaign on Wednesday to appeal against public smoking. The idea is to make polite requests and educate people on the harmful effects of passive smoking.
The campaign has been planned to coincide with the World No Tobacco Day which is on May 31. The theme this year is Second Hand Smoke: Let us Clear the Air. For long, the attention was focussed only on smokers.
But now passive smokers are being talked about more. It is not as though only direct smoking harms. Even passive smoking is known to cause may serious health problems including still-born babies of women whose husbands smoke.
The students campaign has been conceptualised by an NGO supported by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences called ‘HRIDAY’. NGO’s secretary Dr. K S Reddy said: “The campaign has been planned as a community contact programme. School children will go to cinema hall, market places, Delhi Haat and all other areas where people gather. These children, about 30 of them, will be carrying placards with educative messages on the harm caused by passive smoking. Besides, they will also distribute pamphelets on the subject.”
Dr Reddy said: “A large number of non-smoking tobacco products are widely consumed in India and an effective system is required to control them.” He said the various health problems caused by passive smoking include still births, small babies, lung ad ear infections in childhood, asthma, bronchitis, cancers and other heart diseases.
He said spouses of smokers had 30 per cent excess risk of cancers and about 25 per cent excess risk of heart attacks, as compared to non-smokers.

Youth parliament bans tobacco without a fuss

Indian Express, EXPRESS Newsline, New Delhi, Thursday, April 19, 2001

Raja Sabha member of parliament Shabana Azmi walked out of the house today to walk into a virtual one. Only, this house was more disciplined and the netas conspicuous by their absence.

Shabana Azmi with student MPs of the health parliament. Newsline Photo by CHERIAN THOMAS

Students from 60 schools across the Capital participated in a two-day parliamentary session on health, which concluded today. The ‘session,’ which was held at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, was organised by HRIDAY in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and family Welfare, WHO and UNESCO.

Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth H R I A Y for short, is headed by AIIMS Cardiology professor k Srinath Reddy. The organisation has been promoting healthy lifestyles among school students since 1992. Elaborating on the idea of holding a parliamentary session, Prof Reddy said: "It will serve the purpose of familiarising students with procedural aspects of parliament while focussing on heath issues," he said.

Today’s events focussed primarily on introduction of a tobacco control bill. The students were grouped into various ‘parties’ like Vikas Dal, Pragati Path Party and All India Health League. And the house was complete with a speaker, a minister of parliamentary affairs and a leader of the opposition.

The debate was in stark contrast compared to the proceedings in the real parliament. There was no slo-gan- shouting, no storming the will of the house or any of the ugly scenes associated with contemporary parliamentary proceedings.

Only once, in an emotional speech espousing why the tobacco control bill should be introduced, did the ‘honourable minister of parliamentary affairs’ use the word ‘damn’ to embellish his speech. He was instantly rapped on the knuckles by the ‘speaker’.

Finally, the bill was passed by a voice vote.

Azmi recalled the time when she conveyed a young girl’s message to a star who worked in a tobacco ad-campaign. "He said it was a turning point and would never do anything similar in the future," she said